Ljubljana Jože Pučnik Airport is anticipating increased demand for charter flights to drive its recovery. It follows the first winter leisure service from the Slovenian capital this past Saturday on which 160 passengers flew to Teneriffe on the Canary Islands with Trade Air. Ljubljana Airport’s General Manager, Zmago Skobir, said there are plans for additional charter flights to be operated, noting there is strong interest for destinations such as Dubai, the Seychelles, Maldives, Zanzibar, the Caribbean but also Sarajevo due to nearby ski resorts. Ljubljana Airport is looking to offer more charter destinations that were historically popular with travellers in the 1980s.

Several Slovenian tour operators joined forces and managed to organise the charter to the Canary Islands in a short period of time, presenting a model for future cooperation. The Kompas travel agency said tickets to Tenerife were sold out within days, noting that demand was “enormous”. “There is currently a great deal of interest, especially to warmer destinations like the Canary Islands, Zanzibar and the Maldives, with passengers choosing to book their holidays at the last minute”, Kompas said. It comes despite Slovenians being warned against non-essential travel. During the coming summer, Tunisair will launch regular charter flights from Ljubljana to Djerba and Monastir, while SunExpress will commence services from the Slovenian capital to Antalya in Turkey.

Demand for scheduled flights is expected to take much longer to recover. Yesterday, Transavia delayed its service resumption between Amsterdam and Ljubljana by a month until late April, while easyJet has deferred the reestablishment of its flights from London Gatwick from late March until May 1. Furthermore, its planned new service from Luton to the Slovenian capital has also been postponed until May. Wizz Air has also pushed back the resumption of its Charleroi - Ljubljana service for April 30, while Brussels Airlines has delayed its return onto the Slovenian market until May 1. On the other hand, the Slovenian Minister for Infrastructure, Jernej Vrtovec, met with representatives from LOT Polish Airlines in Warsaw on Monday to discussed the carrier’s return to Ljubljana, which has been slated for March 28.